This is the month when all your hard work really starts to show. Most gardens reach their peak in June – borders look perfect and summer fruit and vegetables are flourishing. Ornamental borders will soon be at their best when towards the end of the month scented roses begin to flower in earnest. There is plenty to do in the garden to keep you occupied, such as cutting back and mowing, but it’s a time of year to really sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours. So above all take time to reward yourself this month. The long summer evenings are pure joy and there’s nothing better than sitting quietly in the garden in the evening enjoying the sights, sounds and fragrance of your own private space.

After a long, long year of hibernation, those fortunate enough to have had a garden to work on during the pandemic can finally reveal the results of their efforts. It is now the season for garden shows and show-offs. If you’re looking for inspiration for your garden, go to one of the exhibitions or open gardens taking place over this summer. You’re bound to pick up lots of ideas as well as useful advice from passionate horticulturalists.

The beautiful villages of Oxfordshire are places from which I get much of my inspiration. Many gardeners are starting to open up their gardens for charity again this year. Other garden owners are an often untapped source of knowledge about what grows best in their area and are all too willing to share ideas. You might even find some are willing to part with a few cutting or seeds from precious plants. To discover a garden to visit near you, the UK National Garden Scheme’s website is a good starting point.

Often you don’t even have to leave your street to pick up ideas for your garden. Looking at what grows best in your neighbour’s plot is a good indication of what will work in yours. Most of us gardeners enjoy a small amount of horticultural rivalry with those around us and keeping up with the Joneses is a fairly essential ingredient in gardening.

 

Cotswolds garden photo (c) F.D. Richards ,  issued on Flickr under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)